


Capistro

by Anonymous



Series: MCYT/Tommyinnit Anon Stories [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Real Person Fiction, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (only a little), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Claustrophobia, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, Dehumanization, Family Bonding, Feral Behavior, Fluff, Gen, Good Friend Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I think? It's werid at the end, Imprisonment, Just in this fic though, Memory Loss, Mental Health Issues, Muzzles, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Out of Character, Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Purple Prose, Sad Toby Smith | Tubbo, Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Villain Wilbur Soot, Vomiting, Yeah we finally at the good fluffy bits :), Yet!, he's a good guy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Wilbur watches, as Tommy spills their secrets to the enemy, and he is clever he knows what he has to do to traitors even if they don't mean to, he has to keep their mouths shut, loose lips sink ships after all. He comes up with a plan one forged in cruelty, and Tommy's fate hangs in the balance waiting for his family.
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, Dream SMP Ensemble & TommyInnit, No Romantic Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: MCYT/Tommyinnit Anon Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047313
Comments: 99
Kudos: 1178
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Fratres, de proditione

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bonkcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonkcake/gifts).
  * Inspired by [fic idea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27588010) by [bonkcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonkcake/pseuds/bonkcake). 



Wilbur has always been a watcher, he’d take note of the situation before he jumped into anything, he calculated his chance for success and would then act accordingly, it was one of the things that Tommy had always looked up to Wilbur for, his critical thinking in moments of peril, and Tommy should have known he would have kept watching even as he loses his mind, he’d always be watching others. 

Wilbur woke up that morning in a cold sweat, hair in disarray and watches out of the slight gap between his room and the hall as Tommy walks out of the ravine they call home, and Wilbur clicks on when he turns slightly and his eyes look weary as he trips up the cobbled stairs and out of the there hidden entrance, and Wilbur decides in the ten seconds that he watches to follow his younger brother. Tommy hasn’t taken the horse, it’s the first sign. 

The second is that he is heading in the direction of (L’) Manburg, or at least in the general direction, and he keeps looking behind him. Although this doesn’t surprise Wilbur the more they walk, this isn’t the first time he’s trailed behind Tommy. He’s done it several times, watch from treetops as the younger boy had spoken to the traitors in Manburg, to Tubbo and Niki when he had the chance, they would sit together and laugh in one of the few forests remaining when the outward appearance of a tough younger boy faded away to reveal Tommy as Wilbur would have locked deep in his memories, the one that used to toddle after him with tiny footsteps before his psyche had shattered into shards of glass. 

Then the third and final sign, the blonde boy had climbed into Manburg, and stood for a moment, eating some bread before walking carefully around the side of their ruined walls, to a figure stood that pulled low. 

Fucking Quackity, Tommy was talking to Quackity. They were talking like friends like they missed each other. Like it wasn’t the other man's fault they had been kicked out of their nation like the other man wasn’t responsible for their exile. Tommy had clasped a hand around the other man's shoulders lightly. 

(A brother's hold, one Wilbur had experienced several times from the smaller boy when he would throw his arm over his shoulders and laugh that loud carefree laugh, that gesture that should have been reserved for him and Techno and not a traitor.) 

He didn’t hang around, what was the point in hanging around his traitorous brother, who was telling their secrets right to the enemy, so he returns to his hole in the ground, takes some of the iron out of the community chest, and gets to work. 

* * *

Tommy had woken up early, and he was so excited, he’d managed to persuade Tubbo to speak to Quackity on his behalf to allow them back into Manburg for a few days so they could pick up all their items without having to sneak in, and Tubbo had let him know he could pick it up from Big Q today. He’d snuck out of Pogtopia (He wanted this to be a surprise after they’d left him trapped in his room, he wanted to prove that he could do things for Pogtopia, that he wasn’t just a nuisance)

He’d left his horse behind, there were a few bees around and on the way back he was going to take one to give to Tubbo or he could keep it in Pogtopia for Tubbo whenever he visited. But the further he walked the more the forest began to feel … Threatening? He wasn’t sure really but he felt watched, something had followed him but there was nothing to be seen behind him. Shivering although the sun was beating overhead. He curled his light shirt closer to him and sped up. 

He saw Big Q next to the burning remains of the walls and the older boy stood up properly and grinned wildly at the sight of the blonde boy. 

“Tommy!” He called, he began to whisper, voice airy and lost on the wind, “I missed you,” and Tommy, (Wonderful, gullible Tommy, who’s heart his too big where it is hidden behind walls of stone.) throws his arm over the boy’s shoulder, as they walked into the city to find a bench to talk through the fine comb points of there visa. 

The day is coming to an end when he’s done, and he hurries back to Pogtopia, (He forgets about the bee until he’s just outside the door, and by that point, he’s really too tired to go out and catch one. He’ll get one tomorrow (He regrets not getting one that night)) 

His first warning is that the door isn’t blocked off, but Tommy (Naive little Tommy) assumes that Will just forgot like he normally does and he patches it up as he enters, there is a wind blowing upwards from there ravine it’s horribly cold but Tommy is used to that too. 

His second warning is the fact the furnaces aren’t burning merrily bathing the ravine in a bright golden light that warms the cold stone around them. 

Wilbur appears from the depths of his own room, smiling at him, “Did you have a good day?” 

“I did it! I got you something big man, though it might make you happy.” He begins to hand over the signed book and doesn’t get a third warning, as there’s a rush around him like a bat has spawned from the floor and then attacked him violently. But instead of being attacked, there’s cold metal tightening around his face and leather straps wrapping around the back of his head. 

The metal is pinching his face as he tries to rip it off, but the leather holds tightly, Tommy tastes metal, and he feels himself stop shifting as he tries to scream but he can’t open his mouth. The darkness is pushing in and he can’t get a breath in he’s hyperventilating and crying and Wilbur comes over again. 

“Sh, Sh Tommy,” he pushes the younger boys hair back where it's beginning to mat with the sweat pouring down his face, “Tommy its all ok, I promise, this is just so you can learn, so you know you who you shouldn’t be talking to, like Quackity or Tubbo, because there traitors and there not on our side anymore. This is just like when Phil would make you sit on the step when you did something wrong, you learn from this yeah? I’ll take it off once you’ve learned your lesson ok!”

Tommy nods, and tries to say he’s learned his lesson already he won’t leave Pogtopia, he won’t go out until Wilbur says it's ok, but then Wilbur is dragging him, arms wrapped tightly around his upper arms into the darkroom of obsidian hidden behind the simple stone. Wilbur checks his pockets but he has nothing but the book that Wilbur takes as well, before he throws Tommy in, as if the younger boy is worth nothing more than a sack of the potatoes Techno farms and blocks up the rest of the hole with obsidian, leaving the younger boy, alone in the dark. 

  
  


Tommy prays the first night, he’s cold and there’s no bed but Wilbur appears at some point to drop, some food and some torches and some water, he leaves with a call that he still needs to learn, its deafeningly quiet no whispers of the rocks, or the trees. He rests uneasily that night. 

  
  


He rests uneasily for a week. 


	2. solitudo; Confido falsum; CREPITUS

He can fit the food between the bars of the muzzle, he can sip the water if he’s really careful but it’s more effort than it's worth and he’s scared to waste any so he’s begun sticking his head in the bucket and drinking as best he can like that. It makes him feel like an actual dog. Tubbo always wanted dogs he thinks absently,(Bee’s too, maybe if he’d brought a bee back with him at least he wouldn’t be so lonely, he’d take a creeper over this lonesome feeling stirring in his chest) Tommy is pretty sure he hid some on the docks, and he curses himself for leaving his communicator in his room, he really wants Phil. 

He hears a noise, just outside the walls occasionally, it’s generally very quiet in the box, it makes his ears ring if it stays that way too long. He’s begun humming, to fill the silence anything is better than nothing really. He hums every song he’s ever heard from the L’manburg anthem to the song Techno had barked out once. He makes his throat raw, and the wonder of him accidentally hurting himself doesn’t bother him the way it probably should. 

Tommy has nearly run out of food, well that's a lie, there are some scraps over in the corner but he can’t figure out exactly how to fit them through into the muzzle and he can only look at them forlornly in the early hours of the morning. Tommy started dragging his nails down the walls in an effort to count the days as they passed, and the worry he felt at first about whether he would take one of his nails out is disappearing with the constant nothingness around him, the darkness is really starting to get to him, he’s caught himself wondering absently about the feel of the sun on his skin. 

It takes a few weeks and then there’s this violent shaking and he has to dig his hands tightly into Obsidian otherwise he would get thrown around, he can’t figure what that is, or who set it off, but it doesn’t bother him now as by this point the water has also run out and he feels lightheaded every second he has without water properly, so he compartmentalizes just the way Techno taught him and tries to conserve energy, and falls into a restless sleep. 

* * *

  
  


“Hey, Will?” Tubbo calls as he enters the ravine, “have you seen Tommy? He said he would meet me last night so I could pass over information but he never showed.” 

“That’s a bit odd, you sure it was for last night,” Wilbur answers as he turns away from the iron smelting in the furnace and a grimace on his face, he cannot let the game get away from just yet. 

“Yeah, I wrote it down and everything,” Tubbo says and he sits himself down on the stairs next to where Wilbur is standing. 

“Well I can message him for you if you haven’t already, and I’ll let you know if he turns up within the next day. He did head out early yesterday and in the direction of Manburg why don’t you check and see if he walked in so Quackitiy may have seen him.” 

“I’ll head out now. Don’t worry,” and Tubbo carefully makes his way out of their home. Wilbur waits until the boy turns around to wave goodbye pivoting at the top of the stairs and he half wants the other boy to fall to crash to the floor with a violent thud and cracking bones and the other half wants Tubbo to stay so he can wrap the younger boy in warmth and care that he deserves for doing this spy work for him. 

He goes into Tommy’s lackluster bedroom and opens the chest to find his younger brothers communicator and to get it started, he opens up the direct channel to Tubbo and types out a response, _Hey Big T, sorry for missing last night but Techno asked me to go mining with him and I probably won’t be able to see you for the next week cause I’m trying to keep Techno from working himself into the ground._

He waits for Tubbo to respond, anxious that he doesn’t sound enough like his brother. This is the best idea he’s ever had. Sure Tommy is probably unhappy with it but his brother has plenty of food and plenty to drink. It means his brother can’t hurt their efforts in secrecy and spill major secrets to the enemy. But it also means that he knows where his brother is at all times and his brother is never, ever at risk anymore and it makes him so happy that his little brother is always where he knows where he is. 

It means that the TNT sitting under Manburg won’t be stopped by Tommy again at least. 

_Course Tommy, see U soon!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was only going to be about four chapters but I'm now seven chapters deep and I think I'm broaching halfway. I was so happy to see all the positive comments on this and I hope you all continue to enjoy it!
> 
> I also need someone to be a pseudo bad guy who's not of the SBI or Dream Team or Tubbo, and I was hoping one of you all would like to pick them, there not going to do anything exceptionally bad just do something that will set Tommy backward once he's out the hole.


	3. rupta voce; contritum corde, amissa non inveni

Wilbur doesn’t remember what he did, he knows he did something wrong, something terrible he destroyed something that the others hold dear, but Phil has tried to help the only way he could see, hitting the hilt of his sword against his son's head, Wilbur had fallen and dashed his head on some rocks and had lost swathes of his memory, he remembers nothing of a place called Pogtopia but he does remember an election a rebellion with his younger brother, who has disappeared off the face of the earth there looking for him, but Phil had taken him home, to there area of safety and he healed under the careful care of his father, began sparing with Techno again when he visited too. 

Niki had come with them as well, her kindness bringing the light into his life again, the younger girl helping him even when he couldn’t help himself anymore, and the blind trust she placed in him made him feel so warm, and Fundy, his son coming home each night and curling up at his feet and talking his face off about what he had done throughout the day. 

But there was a space, this space left for Tommy. Tommy, who the others hadn’t seen since Wilbur had gone to blow up Manburg, the younger boy had disappeared into a cloud of smoke that billowed around Wilbur like a fog. 

Techno was looking for him, so was Tubbo. But no one knew where he was. 

(Wilbur has flashes, moments where he thinks of a ravine, of dark walls, and wild animals transforming into the face of his little brother and he can’t remember much of the time before, he can’t remember the cold ravine they called home at all (other than those flashes) but eventually he gets the hint. He tells Phil with tears in his eyes about the dreams, but Phil tells him not to worry that they're just dreams and he needs to stop worrying. (Phil was very very wrong) )

Eventually, on one of his bad days, when he remembers more than normal and he hisses and spits at them all, ready to leave and blow the city, the crater that he cannot remember, sky-high, because they don’t care and the whole day they are so patient with him, and he constantly keeps heaping more and more to the point there only with him for a few minutes when he says something, he can’t quite remember what he says, but he knows he mentions Tommy, mentions that Tommy is probably still alone and in the dark. 

(He remembers a woman called Sally, and his son growing older, but he remembers the anger of that woman, who he thinks he could have loved but she never truly cared for him, leaving him to look after his son on his own, hindsight makes him wish he had called out to Phil (But he has never been his fathers favorite and he has to remember that, that he will never be as loved as Technoblade) and asked for help.)

He realizes he does know what happened to Tommy, but he can’t remember the time in Pogtopia a missing chunk of his memory, and he weeps for the fate of the brother he no longer knows. 

* * *

Techno wants to give up, ~~he really doesn’t but it's easier to think that he does~~ , to cut his losses and give himself the ability to mourn, it’s been at least two weeks since anyone has seen Tommy but it could be longer. He should really be with his twin helping him to heal. But Tommy is only a child and he has to find something even if what he finds destroys him, he knows the statistics he knows that they started searching much too late to find anything. But the pleading look on Phil’s face is the only reason he hasn’t given up entirely. ~~He knows Tubbo is also looking and he knows if he gives up the other boy will be crushed forever.~~

He farms when he can it takes the edge off but the grief is stark in his soul. He listens to Phil often over the communicator and Will will pop up occasionally to talk he ear off about what he’s been up to, ~~his brother has got off way to easy he’s hurt and nearly killed everyone he loves but he can’t remember it and Techno’s anger fizzles out the moment he hears the joy he missed from his brothers' voice.~~

He's lucky he guesses that there is nothing, that there is no torn clothing or half-packed bag, there are no hints of him leaving. His room has become a shrine where his clothes lie strewn around across the floor and over every surface and there's equipment in the chests. Someone keeps leaving bundles of flowers but ~~Techno avoids that room, nothing there makes him feel the love of his youngest brother again he misses the warmth of love that Tommy gave freely to all who asked.~~

O̴̩͒̆ ̷̹̊͜g̶͔̲̎̿o̵̮͋͒d̷̡̂ ̷͍͍́̾h̵͍̹̽i̵͚̝͌̒s̸̲̈́͜ ̴̰̞̉b̸̹͆̎r̷̭̆o̶͈̰̾̋ṭ̵̱͌h̶̟̩͐̐e̴͕̚r̴͕̝͗ ̴̘̉̕i̵̪̱̍s̵̘̚ ̴̡̊d̴̰̼̽e̸̻̪͋a̶̧̦̋͝d̷̰̺̈́

* * *

Karl knows what happened but he's an outsider on this, sure Tommy has always been nice. He's always there in the back of everyone's mind, either thought of with fondness or with anger. Karl misses the action. It would certainly help to have some life back in the server. There are just dead eyes at the moment, souls who have given up hope but aren't ready to admit defeat. Karl plays the fool well, but there's no fun in playing the fool if no one can enjoy it, he's heard the whispers, that Tommy is dead, he's heard people say good riddance.   
  
But Karl isn't involved, he observes. He's looked but, he's not as good at tracking as Dream or Technoblade and, both of them have come up with nothing. Techno resembles a walking corpse with matted hair and a dull crown. The piglin hybrid is mainly covered in dirt, his cape beginning to come to pieces. Dream isn't faring much better the man's mask cracked and chipped in a thousand places, the face rubbing away.   
  
Karl can't help them find Tommy, because he isn't good at that. So he steals Techno's cape in the middle of the night and sews the holes closed, and washes it as best he can. Karl adds new sheep wool to the ruff to keep him warmer on the long nights of loneliness. He brings a thin brush and makes the hybrid sit so that he can comb the dirt out of his hair. Karl ties it into a bun the best he can. He makes Techno eat something that isn't potatoes and rest. He takes the mask from Dream and redraws the face, and fixes the cracks Karl forces the older man to eat anything. Karl sharpens an axe, and tells Dream to take a coat at all times as the night air cools. But it never feels like enough. 

* * *

His hair is beginning to touch the base of his neck. Tommy tried to eat the scraps but, it took him over half an hour to even get the energy to try and there’s only one left now and he’s going to wait until he’s desperate when his stomach is well and truly empty. He feels very alone, and it is very cold. His humming hurts too much now, but he keeps going, he needs something so the ringing of his ears can't deafen him entirely. (He can’t distinguish sometimes if his humming has turned into him screaming)

Phil used to talk about dog muzzles, Techno had brought this wolf of a dog home one night and it had tried to bite right through the front door. They hadn’t kept it there house was way too small for that but Phil had said if they got it a muzzle and it didn’t mind sleeping outside they might have been able to stretch their budget for the dog. It had run away in the night but he remembers thinking about Muzzles and he and Will had stolen the computer to look them up, Wilbur had laughed at his horror at the sight of the muzzles with thick iron clasping cruelly over dogs mouths, he had nightmares about it for weeks until he had forgotten it, in the way he always could as a child. 

He only has his imagination now, spends days in a cottage in the woods, with Tubbo and Techno and Phil, until they begin to blur away and their faces are replaced with abstract shapes, their names fall into tones and white noise, starbursting behind his eyelids. Sunlight becomes this weird thing that he can’t remember, he knows what it feels like, what things should smell and taste like but he remembers it abstractly. 

He dreams of a home he no longer recognizes when he wakes. 

Tommy Hums songs, a song about independence, he cannot remember what that means. Any thought is hard when you're trapped in a room with only yourself for company. 

Metal digs into his face, 

It hurts, 

He cries out, 

His eyes droop. 

His voice leaves him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, this was supposed to be much shorter, then BlueNekomata commented about wanting to see something with Techno searching so I had to add it, then the part with Karl possessed me so that was also added. 
> 
> I'd like to note that Techno is a hybrid in this although it doesn't come up very often, the sort of cursed text I used was because of that, I like the idea of him having to sides and that Piglin side coming out more clearly when his thoughts written like that. 
> 
> I started writing this during the Nov 16th war, so I didn't know about the 3 lives thing but I also didn't know about Wilbur being actually dead, hence the memory loss but him not actually being dead like the current canon  
> Spoiler warning for this story:  
> But I thought it would be more angsty for Wilbur to have no idea what he's done to Tommy and Tommy just being afraid of him. He's not getting off easy don't worry
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Liber, Spe.

Tubbo is tired. He's felt cold now for much longer than he thinks he should be, the ravine is empty covered in buttons, and it smells vaguely of decay like something died down here a long time ago. It wouldn’t surprise him not anymore, after Wilbur’s ‘accident’, and Shlatts heart attack there is no one in charge of the crater they all call home. Everyone is waiting for him to move on from the hole of his heart, perhaps that was what the smell was, the burning decay of his own heart. 

He held a torch tightly in one hand, the lanterns had dimmed and were snuffed out a week ago. The dirt and stone they had carved were beginning to fall away, the unfinished melody of Pogtopia was beginning to be reclaimed by nature again. The grass was rooting into the dirt of their potato farm his Redstone was messy and falling apart, and he began to pull it away. 

There was a noise in the wall, a scratching noise, that Tubbo couldn’t attribute to any mob, either good or bad, his nerves set alight, and he pulled his sword down, just the way Techno had taught him and placed his torch next to the sound, and pulled his pickaxe out. 

He began to break the stone, it crumbled under his movement. This was definitely not part of the stone that was naturally there, meaning it had been placed there by someone, this had been placed to hide something. 

His pick hit dark, and he stumbled back, the scratching had stopped. 

Obsidian. 

A cage he guessed, there was a yowl from the inside. One that made him think of his dogs on the pier. He dug his pick in harder using the push off of the stone to the side and his whole body weight to drag the Pick through the obsidian and break it. It shattered into fragments and for a moment Tubbo thought he hadn’t broken. Then, he realised he was looking into a room made entirely of the dark material, he was staring at the other wall. 

There is a figure, scrunched against the far wall, (tommy)

Their hair is caked in dirt, but he could see the blonde of it from the dim light of his torch. They had lifted there head, and dirty hair was falling around there shoulders. Blue eyes were shining with tears, closing and opening slowly, reminding him of those owls he had seen flying and roosting in the middle of the night. (Tommy)

They were clad in a stained shirt and dark pants, (ToMMY)

But there was a contraption on there face: one of metal jaws, and leather straps, it was like something you would see in a terrible budget horror movie, the boy sort of shambles towards him, there not speaking Tubbo’s not entirely sure they can right now. But they hum a few notes that slide up and down a familiar word, the way Tommy would say his name after every fight when he would check him for injuries. 

This emaciated figure is his best friend, and the other has been alone for just under a month. He digs his pick through another block of Obsidian and Tommy stumbles forward, he walks like a newborn calf's knees wobbly and he can’t take more than one step forward before the taller boy collapses, they hummed the notes again pulling Tubbo from his thoughts. 

“Tommy, Tommy, I need to go, I’ll be right back, but I can’t open the clasps without a key and I’m not very good at picking locks, I’ll be right back, I promise Tommy.” He says it slowly, but the other boy doesn’t nod or make any indication he’s heard he just tilts his head like a child again and Tubbo has to leave now. Before the rushing of his ears and the beating of his heart kills him. 

He needs to get an adult, just anyone else. 

Because there is nothing he can do, not for this. 

He sprints up the steps of Pogtopia, falling out into the sunlight. (how long has Tommy not seen the sun for? How long has he been since his friend has heard anything other than his humming) He sprints, off into the direction of the main parts of the SMP he focuses and there are a few people on. Karl who he likes but the older boy is no good at being calm enough for something like this. Purpled who is as young as he is and therefore no use. Sapnap, is a firecracker wheel of being helpful and would leave the whole thing up to chance, but given his track record with Tommy would probably be a bad idea. 

Dream, or Techno. Both he decides in a moment's notice. Dream because he can remove the thing, with the flick of a wrist and who wanted chaos like a madman clings to any shred of power but was never overly cruel to either of them. When he wasn’t forcing his facade and Techno who had spent months searching for Tommy, who hadn’t given up and deserved to see his brother as soon as possible. 

“Techno!” He calls when he sees a flash of bright pink in the distance, the older man turns axe clenched tightly in one hand but relaxed upon recognizing Tubbo. Techno looked harried, hair tumbling out of his braid in several segments and deep inset bags under his eyes. “I- I found Tommy, Pogtopia. Gonna get Dream, go now,” Tubbo called panting as he ran past, Techno had begun running in the other direction, towards the coffin of Pogtopia. 

Tubbo found Dream walking down Prime Path, he was unarmed and the tension left Tubbos body, the older boy looked him over but the mask pulled low over his face meant that he couldn’t see his expression due to the thin plastic mask over his face. 

“I found Tommy, he’s in Pogtopia, but he’s wearing this weird thing over his face and I don’t know how to get rid of it Techno is already on his way to Tommy but I don’t know what to do and we should really contact Phil, and we should get some medical attention for Tommy, and -”   
Dream thankfully cut off the word vomit he was spewing, placing a hand lightly onto the young boy's shoulder. “Tubbo, calm down, we can sort this, don’t worry just breathe for me Techno and I will get Tommy everything he needs. I’ll head down to Pogtopia now. Wait here for another few minutes and then message Phil we can figure it out from there. Get your breath back, alright?”

“It’s fine, right, ok.” Tubbo sucked a breathe in as Dream pearled away, he could do this. Tommy was going to be fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry everyone for the slightly late update, I had exams this week so I had to study more than writing. I am a little apprehensive about this which is why I'm asking, but a few people have wanted me to include them not finding Tommy until it's too late - which as you can isn't happening. I have been debating having a dream sequence with Tubbo, and I'm happy to write something but I think it could possibly be a little graphic as I am describing a corpse in quite a bit of detail. So would people be interested in that or would you rather something else? 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	5. Frater, Nolite Flere

Techno approaches the opening maw of Pogtopia with trepidation he usually reserved for the bloodiest fights, Pogtopia was always cold. Never bright or nice but, this is different it feels like walking into a vacuum that every spot of sunlight has disappeared forever and, he is left stranded on a raft in the dark. He scrambles down worn steps, past decaying wood and into an area with slight amounts of light. He freezes on the entryway to his farm, the fields barren. There is a figure one he recognises he has seen grow from the moment their father had brought the young boy home and proclaimed him their younger brother. 

“Tommy?” He calls hesitantly, voice wavering, blue eyes snap open but Tommy winces back and, brilliant blue eyes close tightly with a wine. 

“Tommy? Are you-” the sentence stutters to a stop, and the violence he tries to control rears its ugly head. The constant hum of K̵͎̈͋ȋ̵̯͓̓l̶̟̗͒̄l̸̜̣̒͝,̸̨̻̿ ̷̺͝ḧ̸̫u̸̢̫̓͗ņ̶̻͛t̴͈͖̒,̵͎͛ ̴̹́H̴͔̲̏́ụ̴͗̈ŗ̵̄t̷͎͔͂ rearing to the forefront of his mind. There is a horrific metal muzzle tied around his brother's head, made of iron, leather and cruelty. Who would dare? His inner monologue rings out. (Wilbur the darkest parts of his soul call, their brother who had lost his mind, could have done this in his madness. (Madness he no longer remembers.)) He pulls himself closer, sits in the dim torchlight and compartmentalises the way he does best. He begins to check for other injuries but, Tommy seems un-injured. 

The bloodlust rings out in the silence, K̴̙͑i̴̯͓̅̊ľ̷͙́l̶͓̙̀,̶̪̏͋ ̵̹̞̌ẖ̴̌u̷̫͑n̸̡̪̚t̶̝́͝,̶̱͊͠ ̴̥̩́̈H̶͉̠̎u̷̙͆͠r̸̛̊͜t̷̞͙͋ turning into, ̶͚̭̐͌P̷̲͒̓ͅa̵̡͐̐č̴̘k̵̺̍̓ ̴̥̽͗ḧ̶̯́̔u̵̠̔͗r̸͖̀ͅṱ̸͘͠,̷̹̰̿ ̴̘͛͜w̴̟͗̔h̵̢̛o̶̱͒?̶̙̫̈́ ̸̣͗Ẅ̶̹́͘h̴̭̋̕ỏ̵͍̼̉ ̶̫̰̊̊w̴͈͆o̶̺̐u̶̢̠̇͠l̵̹̈̄ḑ̵̡͗ ̴͓̅d̷̹̋ā̴̲̏r̵̞͉͠è̸̟͆,̷͖̆ ̸̦̪̓ḋ̸̼̂e̸̞͉͠s̴̥̍t̴̜̀͊r̷̤̅ö̷̱̜̍y̵̲͝ ̷̹͘m̸͎̀̓ȧ̸͈̱i̴͍͘m̷̱͗,̷̳̕͜ ̴̭̏k̶̛̠̜͑i̵̳̼͗͐ĺ̶͍̞l̸̥̽̉,̴̯̌ ̵̻̗͗̓y̶͇͗ơ̸̱̪̈́u̴͓͒͝n̴̊͜g̷̨͈̚e̵̯̭̕͝s̵̮͔̽t̶̩̓̔ ̸͉̒̈͜i̶̘̽̚s̴̱͋̿ ̷̰̲͒̈w̴͙̺̐́e̸͕͘a̵͔͆k̷̻̈́ë̷̯̮s̸̡̙̾t̴̤̍̓ ̷̱̳̏n̷̩̩̄̚e̷̫̓ȩ̶̐d̶̖́̚͜ ̴̘̯̓c̷̭̰̚a̶̫͐͌ř̸̮̓e̶̠͆.̶͇̗̄̆ ̸̢̘̾̂P̴̹̓̍ä̵̗͋c̸̦̣͊k̷̫̬̅̇ ̶͇̼̆̇l̴̲̝͗̏ẽ̸͙ä̵̳́͌ͅd̷̦̈e̴̪̥̚r̷̡̤͊,̶̳͌̔ ̶̗̫̀͐c̴͎̱̽a̸̻̝̓l̷̩̺̎̌l̵̹̜̎͑ ̸̳̌ͅp̸͈̠̏̊a̵̞̅͛c̸̪̰̈́k̷͇̗͒͋ ̴̝̿̂l̴͔̿e̴̗̺̓ȁ̵̰͆d̶̻̎e̶͕̖̐r̷̲̱͒.̴̮̌̌ ̶̮̋͋Ṕ̵̮H̴̤̏͒Í̴͇͘Ḷ̸̀͗ ̵̲͈͒̀P̶͈͍͗H̴̝̰͌I̷͓̾L̵̛̠̅.̷͈̻͛͝ ̸̰̈́̇N̶͎̓͑o̸̟͓̊ņ̸̛́-̴̪̲̀̓p̴̰̽̉a̶̗͌c̷͕̰̊͊k̷͇̐̾ ̸̤̓ǹ̶͓ȍ̶̬̳t̷̼́͠ ̴͎͠s̶͖͑a̴̯͛f̶̘͑̚ͅé̷͕.̸̢̗͐̕ ̸̟͘

Techno isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do really when someone can’t open their eyes but he remembers Pete (and isn’t that a throwback to think about Pete after so long) saying that people used to cover their faces in cloth when they had been underground for long long times. He removes the cape off of his back and wraps it carefully across the younger boys eyes as Dream stumbles in. 

The mask clad man’s breath stutters to a stop, and he comes closer hands holding lock picking tools and picks the iron lock holding the muzzle in place and the metal clangs on the floor and rolls away. Tommy’s face begins to bleed lines of where the muzzle has cut into the skin as it is torn away. Tommy whines, a tiny little noise that sounds infinitely too quiet and too loud in the depths of Pogtopia. 

Techno puts his hands around thin shoulders, far to thin shoulders and the other boy doesn’t pull back instead he seems to curl closer to him. His hands don’t work there way behind him like they used to, instead there held in front of him, not pushing just placed carefully on his chest like he’s unsure of what to do with them. Dream moves closer and places a hand hesitantly on the younger boy's spine, but this makes him tense, bowstring pulled taught beneath his hands. Tommy growls a broken sound, a sound that sings of injured vocal chords. (Had his brother screamed when there had been no one to help? Did he know there was only a two-block divide between them? had he heard them walking through Pogtopia and been unable to do anything but wail, and cry to no avail? (What creature deserves punishment like this, what has his brother done that means this is his payment?))

Techno bares his tusks, N̵̫̑̆o̵̭͒̀ț̶̭͝ ̷̎͜p̸͓͗a̴͍̔c̵̣̓̈́k̶̻̜̈́͂,̷̱̍̌ ̸͕̈́͝ṇ̶̖͐̊o̶̥͗́t̵͎̥͒͐ ̴͔̄̏s̵͙̑á̵̞̈ͅf̵̢͉̒̀ë̷̩́.̶̛͓͑ ̶͚̙̏̚E̵͙̿̋n̶̝͐͆é̵̞m̴̧̰̈́͑y̶̥̠̏͝?̷̼̓ ̷͚̦̈́E̸̯͚̓̄ǹ̴̪e̶͕̟̕m̶̲̐͝ͅy̷̗̳͗̒ ̶̨͎̂͒m̸̖̦͑̕ů̸̠̞̄ś̶͓̳ṱ̷̀͐ ̵̘̋͌ṅ̷̡̻̈́ó̷̭̝̊ṯ̷̨́̂ ̸͈̼̈́t̶̙̹̽o̷͇̲͘̕u̵͓̭͐̌c̵̞̐́h̸͇̩́̚ ̶͈̱́̈́p̶̪͒ā̸̤c̴̫̄͘ͅk̵̤̐,̶̛͍̼ ̶̮̈́̆w̴͔̍į̶͈͒͝l̶͉̓̽l̸̲̭͛ ̷̫̆c̸͈̹̿͋a̶͈̲̾r̷̼̈́v̴͇̈̍e̷̻͐͠ ̸̝͙̽l̷̼͌̍í̶̯̀m̵̡̛͉͘b̴͇͑s̸̜̄ ̴͖̗̆̔ą̸̼͊̈ṗ̸̞a̵͙͐r̸̡̪͂̀ṭ̴̫̈͠.̵̦̚ ̶̓ͅẀ̸͉̟͠h̶̥͆e̷̾͜r̴͎̬͑e̶̟̪͌͠ ̶̥̏̇į̵̲͛̒ś̷̗ ̶̝̎̚P̵̋̓͜ă̶̯̥c̸̛̫̾ķ̷͠ ̷̭̒̌L̷̲̈͐e̷̤̭̎͘a̵̩̭̓d̷͚͊ė̵͆͜r̸͓̒͊͜?̶͚̊ ̴̟̥͝S̴͍͚̈́h̸̙̍ȯ̸̗̩̾u̶̝͋l̵̛̩̊d̵̳̱́ ̵̧̽b̷̖͍̍e̶̬̥͂̍ ̵̨̩̄h̸̼̒ẹ̴̡͂ŕ̶̢̯ë̸̗!̵͉̿

The growl recedes as Dream removes his hands, and Techno looks down to see something he has missed, the younger boy's hands are torn raw, fingernails missing and he knows what this means, it means Tommy had tried to claw his way out of an obsidian box. (O his fragile heart, guarded behind thousands of walls, trembles.)He brings the destroyed hands up to his face and does something Phil used to do for them when he was really, young he presses a kiss to the palm of his brother's hands. Then turns it to kiss the protruding bones and knuckles of Tommy’s hand. 

Tommy looks up, head still wrapped tightly in the red of his cape, it would be comical if it weren’t breaking his soul into shards of glass. Tommy opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, something stupid most likely, but instead, all that comes out is a garbled noise he’s only heard from the shambling zombies that plague the land a noise of pain and decay, Tommy's mouth snaps shut, and Techno looks over at the curled up body of his younger brother with mangled fingers and who can’t talk and begins to weep. 

F̴̱̾̑a̷̳͆̊ĭ̴̼̿l̶̪͒͝è̴̜̱͋d̴̡̯̈́̕ ̴̲͠y̶̬̰͑o̵͉͔͒̂ù̸̧̻͗n̵̜̙̏g̵͚͛̉͜ë̶͕́s̵͚͕̏t̶̮̞̕,̶̭͋͗ ̵̢̘̅͝f̶̮̱̐á̸̯͝i̶͓͆͝l̸̡͍͌͑ȇ̶̟ḋ̴̡͍͝ ̵̘̌t̴̗̚͜ö̷̱́͝ ̵͔̏̂ṕ̸͍r̸͈̒o̷̡̬͒͆t̸͖̑e̴̫̦̚c̷̝̔̈́t̸̩̍.̴̻̕ ̴̺̈́̽L̸̬̕͜ǫ̴̪́v̴̙̻̅è̴̹͖ ̶͈̈́b̸̭̥̄̇r̸̜̓̇o̴̲̖̔̂t̸̤̍̃h̷̡̰̔͗ě̷̘̿r̶̪̓͌ ̴̯͑h̶̯͂ū̴̜̿r̵͓͗͝ẗ̵͔͎́,̸̈͌͜ ̵̯̑̇ḏ̸̋ǫ̷͒̆e̴̮͉͊s̴̝̈́͝ ̷̧̄͆ņ̴̖̿ȍ̴̖̈́t̵̮̎̄ ̸̺̖̂̕d̷͓̀e̸̠̾͘s̵̙̯͆ẽ̸̡̓r̸͎̕v̷̫̽ḙ̵̂ ̶̟̃p̵̥̓ā̶̲̔i̴̲̳͂̿n̵͎̓͆.̸͇̆ ̷͚̰̃̚N̸̮͗̋ẹ̴̡͒e̶̢͔̽͆d̶̥̍̊s̴̬̍ ̶̮̩̀c̶̟͈͐â̵̪̣͝r̶̜͒͛e̴͇̕,̸͔͔̿ ̵͖̩͂̽ṉ̷͝e̴̩͌̿ë̴̜̬̀d̵̫͗s̶̭̽ ̶̡̖̎w̵͎̌́ȃ̶̠̮̈́r̶̡̳̽m̵̭̕t̷̞̽ĥ̷̝,̵̥̓͠ͅ ̴͔̼́͠n̴͚͌e̶̩̽̇e̸̲̜̒d̶̰̀s̸̮̑̆ ̶̡̍̒h̶̭̘͛o̵̜̅̊ͅm̸̦̕e̶̡͙͒͠.̷̣̐͝

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!   
> If the cursed text is difficult to read I can paste it here, but I thought it was ok so I can add it if needed :). Phil's in the next chapter and it really only gets better from here.   
> I'm also thinking of writing something small for the influx of Ghost-Innit things cause I'm really enjoying them. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading


	6. Pater noster, domum suam

Phil walks down the stairs of Pogtopia, he's avoided this place for as long as possible. Frightened to see the ravine his children had locked themselves in, it's better than he imagined but not by much. It is a hole in the ground after all. 

He stumbles slightly on the top stair, the sound bouncing off the walls and echoing around sounds so ghastly he struggles for a moment with the thought he has stumbled into the nether. But the oppressive heat is nowhere to be found. He picks up speed careening down the rest of the stairs to see his stoic son sobbing over his youngest the boy's eyes covered in a deep red cloak. Phil clocks a metal contraption rolled onto the floor and Dream sitting nearby. Techno raises his head, and the tear tracks on his face were deep. 

Tommy makes a noise of pure confusion, but it’s much to quiet for the usual behaviour of his boy, and Techno seems to hold his brother closer, tighter. Phil understands Tommy has been missing for the better part of a few weeks, and he sounds rather tired and worn, and if the room behind them is any indication and the cape covering his eyes his boy has been alone and scared in the dark for longer than anyone should. 

“Dad’s here, bubba. He’s just come down the stairs.” Techno says, hands beginning to play with long blonde hair as Dream begins to edge out of the room. 

The younger boy whines, but it sounds happy, he opens his mouth and all that is let out is a rasp but no words, and Phil begins to fall apart, Tommy exercises and stretches out as he used to when he was a baby and Phil falls to his knees and presses his boys to head into his chest, Techno looks at up at him over Tommy's shoulder and it takes all of his power not to start crying. 

“Right Tommy, shall we try and take Techno’s cape off of your eyes alright. We’ll be really careful. So keep your eyes shut tight ok?” He gets a hesitant nod and Techno unties the knot he’s made in the cape, they unwind it slowly until the cape has fallen away and Tommy is sat with his eyes scrunched tightly closed, “All right, open one eye, very slowly ok,” Tommy opens his left eye very slowly pupils tightening quickly even in the dull torchlight. But he keeps his eye open for a little, as it begins to water. They sit there for a few minutes until Tommy’s eye stops watering and then he opens the other one, and the process repeats until Tommy is staring up at them with watery blue eyes but the brightest smile adorning his face. With a jolt, Tommy throws himself forward and re-buries himself in Phil’s chest and Techno comes up behind him and covers them both in his arms. “Right Tommy, let's get you home!” 

Techno has to carry the younger boy out when he stands up and his legs immediately give way, and he crumples back down onto the stone. The Tommy Phil knows would argue and complain about the very idea of being lifted up, but Tommy doesn’t complain at all even if he’s far too big to be carried like this. The sunlight makes him whine, but outside Dream stands with two horses held on leads. 

Tommy stares and Dream, and beacons him over. The older boy approaches with slow steps until he stands directly over Tommy and the older boy lifts his hand touch the edge of Dream’s mask. Hooking his hand behind the older boys neck and pulls him into a very awkward hug, Phil let's go as his son learns all his weight on Dream, and Dream holds him close running a hand through the longer blonde hair. 

“I’m sorry Tommy, I should have looked harder.” The older boy sobs trails of tears beginning to appear beneath the mask. But Tommy pulls one arm free and hits the edge of the mask quite harshly and shakes his head, but he doesn’t start to talk he shifts to look at Phil and then does an odd manoeuvre to chuck his body to lean onto Phil and Phil stumbles backwards under the teenager's weight. He shifts him onto the horse and then climbs up behind him. They start riding towards the main hub to transfer over to their own private server. 

“You doing ok down there Toms,” Phil asks, as Tommy shifts in front of him but he feels the nod his son gives as he relaxes back into his fathers hold. 

“Dad?” Techno calls, “How far to the hub?”

“We’re about five minutes away, should we just tie these horses up just outside? I’m not sure about the etiquette of this server.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, there aren’t many rules here. We’ll get you home soon Tom's promise.” Tommy turns towards him, and grabs his arm, writing carefully on his arm with a bleeding finger bed, T--U--B--B--O--?. 

“Tubbo, Tubbo? He’s fine, he went and got Dream and Techno, and messaged me. He said he was going to visit Karl and stay there tonight. Would you like him to come and visit when you get home, he’s more than welcome and I’ll send him a message.” He feels the nod again, “Then he’ll be at home tomorrow. Why don’t you take a nap and we can wake you up when you get home.” Tommy relaxes even further, turning to putty and curling his head into Phil's collarbone and his breath evening out. Phil looks down, at the slight blood trail from his son's nail beds leaving swirls and patterns on his arm, would look pretty if it weren’t from such a gruesome cause. 

“Phil,” Techno says, voice quiet and weak, “What the fuck has happened?” 

“I don’t know Techno, I really don’t know. He needs a hospital, a doctor or something, therapy? We’ll sort it once we get home.” 

“He muzzled Phil, like a dog, like an animal that had behaved badly, and he’s torn his fingers to ribbons.” 

“Fucking what? Is that why his face is cut up, because of a muzzle?” Techno nodded a yes, “How long have we missed him, how long has he been trapped in Pogtopia, how did we miss him?”

“I don’t know, dad I really don’t know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's important to note that this chapter would have been out much earlier if my Google Docs hadn't gone down and I couldn't access any files at all haha :)


	7. Agnus Dei: mali fratres somnia tristia semper amicos

“Dream, where are we going?” Snapnap called, chasing after his friend as they made their way quickly through the forest pale white bandana swaying in the wind. Dream had come storming through the doors of the community house and sunk onto the bed there. George and himself had already been there. They were about to message Karl and meet up to do some more changes around the castle. But Dream's sudden appearance had taken that idea out of their heads. 

“Dream are you ok?” George had asked, coming over to the older boy, placing a hand on the other boy’s shoulder. But Dream shakes it off and lifts his head, causing Sapnap to rush over, there's a slight trail of blood from one eye of the mask, it looks like a tiny snail trail. Dream is uninjured at all apart from the shining tear tracks which he sees as the base of his face comes into the light. 

“Holy Fuck, Dream, what’s happened why are you crying?”

“We found Tommy, but he’s really hurt, and if only I’d look harder or I’d been more focused on that then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.” 

“Dream,” George breathes, and they both sit down and surround their mask-wearing friends in a hug, holding him close and running fingers through his hair. “He’s safe now, don’t worry, he’s with his family, they’ll keep him safe.” 

“He can’t speak, like at all, he just makes noises that you hear from the Zombies, but he’s taken his nails out, cleared out nail beds. But he tried to say it wasn’t my fault. He’s fucking sixteen, and he’s been locked in a room and fucking muzzled,” and Dream throws an iron contraption onto the floor where it clanks to the ground. 

“Ok, ok, we are going somewhere else and you can calm down,” George says, ever the voice of reason among the three and they both pull their hoodie-wearing friend out into the cold daylight. Dream sits for a second, before jumping to his feet and walking off into the forest in frigid silence. 

Which leads them to where they are now, following Dream, as he walks until the entrance of Pogtopia rises to greet them. Dream scampers down the stairs and, they follow him down with much more trepidation, they’ve never gone down into the place that had caused Wilbur to lose his mind. They walk down the stairs and down into a disused farm where a torch slowly burns down to embers. There is an obsidian room in front of them, and everything clicks into place with startling clarity. 

“Dream, this is really not a good idea, you shouldn’t be punishing yourself about this, come on let's go.” 

“No, I need to see this. Please.” 

They walk into the room together, and Sapnap swings his arm over Dream's shoulder, just to remind his friend that he has someone there and he doesn’t have to beat himself up about this. But the room pulls a gasp from his lungs and he can hear George mirror him. The room is dark and even with the torch where it is, it makes him feel like he’s lost his vision for a second. There’s a mainly empty bucket with the remnants of water sloshing in the bottom, there are also a few scraps of food tossed into the corner. 

“He couldn't eat or drink properly. The muzzle probably wouldn’t let him,” George says, what there all thinking out loud, one hand raised to cover his mouth like a stiff victorian lady. It would be the perfect moment for laughter if they were outside, and this wasn’t happening. So Sapnap elbows George in the side in the hopes of getting him to shut up. It doesn’t work, as Sapnap drags the two of them to leave and turns around and the dark wall to the side of them is covered in over twenty little marks, it only covers one block, but that doesn’t matter because the marks must mean something and that something has very very bad implications. 

Sapnap walks over and brushes his hand over the marks, there rough against the Obsidian and, he counts them slowly with the backing music of his friend's breakdown. There are twenty-eight, twenty-eight incriminating marks. Which means the only person who could have put him in here is Wilbur, in the throes of his madness had locked his brother in a box, there is no one else it could be. He remembers the war he fought against them and pure terror on his face at the thought of Tommy dead there is no way that this wasn’t some way that his broken mind had thought would keep his younger brother safe. 

“We need to tell Phil, just so he knows what this means.”

He gets two hums of affirmation and fires up his communicator.  _ Phil, we know who put Tommy in the ( _ What the fuck does he call this place, a cage? A room? He goes with a room because it makes him feel less sick.)  _ room but you're not going to like it.  _

_ Just let me know Sapnap, nothing can hurt more than this.  _

_ I wouldn’t be surprised if this does, Phil just relax, please and don’t get angry? I’m not sure the best way to word this without being insensitive.  _

_ Just tell me _

_ Wilbur, it's the only one that makes sense, there are marks on the wall that makeup twenty-eight days and well Wilbur kept saying he’d seen him over that time.  _

_ Alright, thanks Sapnap, we thought so, Tommy asked if you three would like to come and see him here. If you three would be willing to make the journey.  _

_ I’ll ask the others but I’m definitely in.  _

“Guys?” He asks, “Phil says Tommy wants to see us, and Phil’s sent an invitation for us to come to see Tommy tomorrow. Are you all up for it?”

“Are you sure Tommy wants us to see him? Cause sure”

“Unless Phil is lying, but I doubt it.”

_ If you do end up coming, could you bring Tubbo with you? Tommy really, really wants to see you all. I think we're driving him insane and he’s only been here for twenty minutes.  _

_ We will give Tommy our best wishes  _ (It sounds forced, like the weird way he has to talk when he messages people and the weird etiquette people made him follow _ ) and we’ll see him tomorrow.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream Team, Dream Team! This is an interlude chapter really hence the name. I was super excited to write them although their characterisation is way off, especially in the current characters on the SMP. No villain dream I'm afraid lol.


	8. Est spe carminis alite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!   
> Someone suggested that I add a T/W for a mention of vomiting. I completely forgot about TW when I was writing this and posting, If there are any others you would like me to add please let me know.

Their home appears over the crest of the hill, it’s illuminated, in the twilight, that’s quickly descending upon them, by lanterns hung outside and it fills the three of them with a deep-seated feeling of home. They've been walking most of the day with Tommy being passed between them every so often when the admittedly small weight of the teenager got too heavy, they hurry through the doors as the noises of the night begin to appear. The inside is lit with that same comforting yellow light and Niki swings the door open to them with her usual easy smile. 

“Hey Tommy,” her voice is just a hint to light but Tommy doesn’t seem to care, he manages a noise but the older girl gives him a bright smile, all the same, she beacons them inside and they are washed in golden light and the smell of freshly baked bread. “I’m so happy to see you, Tommy! We’ve got some food all set up for you, then I think you should go to bed. I’ll look over your hands and we can make sure everything is healing correctly ok!” Tommy nods enthusiastically but as Phil tries to continue, he wacks him on the arm and swings his legs down to touch the floor. He leans heavily on Phil as they walk there way into the house but he's walking, so they all take it as a win. 

But Wilbur is sat at the table, he’s strumming absently at his old guitar and has a beanie jammed down over unruly curls. They walk into the kitchen, and they're all smiling but Tommy’s footsteps stutter to a stop the second the two brothers make eye contact. Phil doesn’t notice the fear coating his younger face until Wilbur stands up, eyes shining with unshed tears. 

“Tommy!” He calls, but Tommy recoils as if he’s been struck, bright pain burning in brimming eyes. The younger boy lets out a scream when Wilbur rounds the table, its the loudest noise they’ve heard him make all day, which is rather more bitter than sweet as he turns into Phil's shoulder and begins to sob, it sounds like death the noise of broken vocal cords being damaged more and more. 

“Tommy, you need to relax, Wilbur isn’t going to hurt you I promise,” Phil whispers into the hair of his youngest. But the boy's breath is feather-light in his rib cage and his heart is beating like hummingbird wings. Wilbur stops moving forward his hands clasped together and he begins to rock on his feet. Niki comes forward, ever the saint and drags the older man out of the room, she brushes his hair back as he cries and pleads for the forgiveness of actions he has forgotten

They sit Tommy at the table he’s shaking violently. But he picks up the water and sips it, Techno brushes his hand through matted hair before disappearing upstairs and into his room. Phil stood behind his youngest heating up some soup, he had begun humming the way he used to, whenever his children were hurt to ease them as best he could when words failed him. Tommy had begun to sway with the music, eyes drooping with sleep.

Techno re-entered a comb and scissors in hand, “Tommy, wake up, you can sleep soon I promise but you need to eat. I can sort out your hair if you want?” Tommy startled awake, water flying from his hand to hit the floor and roll, but Phil just smiled and cleaned it away. “How short do you want it, Tommy?” Tommy gestured, showing it to be closely shorn to his head and the older boy got quietly to work, Techno began talking as quietly as possible to Phil as he brushed out mat and dust, with steady hands. The soup is devoured quietly, with too much vigour they realise too late as Tommy vomits onto kitchen tiles, their patient however as the younger boy cries into a toilet bowl. His father runs a bath, and he soaks until the water turns a putrid grey. He washes again after that until the water leaves the tub clear. He looks like Tommy again after that, not an emaciated corpse with a pulse. 

They set him down to sleep, flicking on the lanterns in the hallway so that he doesn’t have to be in the dark. 

They don’t even make it downstairs before the screaming starts, it sounds muffled and starts as more of a keening whine, but it raises in a volume higher and higher until it tempers off and starts again. They rush back to see the youngest writhing his eyes are closed tightly. Techno moves closer and sits down at the very edge of the bed, moving the boy's legs as gently as he can until they rest over his own, he rubs them carefully and wakes up his younger brother as their dad kneels so his head is right next to the youngest as he brushes bright blonde hair off of a messy forehead. 

“Tommy, it’s ok,” Phil whispers into the young boy's hair. “Breath, that’s it it’s just a nightmare, you're at home with me and Techno.” 

“Dad?” Tommy asks, his voice is worse than before, go beyond cracking, the word sounds more like a drawn-out A than a real word. Phil shushes the boy, still brushing his hair out of his face, the landing light illuminating him in a yellow glow, it reminds Techno of those old paintings showing people lit by candlelight. It makes his younger brother look like an angel. 

The younger boy sniffles and his eyes close again, but the people who care for him refuse to leave, they sit there awake or dozing lightly all night, soothing every nightmare and fear of their youngest until the sun was beginning to shine through the window and they all ended up awake. Techno left the two of them, and Phil sat there with his youngest knees aching, he kissed the crown of his youngest head and helped him sit upright. Tommy moves to stand and does get to his feet and a grin breaks on Phil’s face for a moment, but the feeling is crushed as the younger stumbles after his first step and Phil rushes to catch him, picking up buckling legs carefully he carriers the younger downstairs to the kitchen table. Techno has pancakes already on the table. 

“Da,” Tommy calls, and makes a gesture for a pen, they bring him some scrap paper and he writes for a few seconds handwriting like chicken scratch. 

_ Wilbur can sit with us, as long as he promises not to get to close, I want to see him and Niki.  _

“Tommy, are you sure?” Phil asks. 

He gets a nod and leaves to get Wilbur. His middle child is curled into the armrest of the chair sharing a blanket with Niki, hair in disarray in a way that is unlike Wilbur and he’s gripping the blanket for dear life. Phil wakes him as gently as he can, softly shaking him until two bleary eyes stare up at him. 

“Tommy asked that you sit at the table with us. But you have to promise me something, Wilbur?”

“What? What do I have to do.” The younger boy has shot upright at the statement, eyes brimming. His hands release the blanket and grip Phil’s tightly instead, he looks so earnest. 

“If Tommy starts looking uncomfortable, you have to leave Wilbur, we don’t know what happened,” What you did goes unspoken between them. But Wilbur stands anyway, nodding vigorously. 

“I’ll wake Niki and we’ll come in. I love you, dad,” Wilbur says jumping upright. Phil still hasn’t got used to Wilbur saying that again he welcomes it all the same though. They make their way into the kitchen behind Phil and they watch as Tommy tenses gripping the table tightly, Phil slowly weaves his hand underneath Tommy’s pushing it up so that he realises the table and grips tightly down on Phil instead. Phil winces internally but doesn’t show anything. 

The breakfast is tense, Tommy can’t speak, and it's usually his role at awkward dinners to clear the tension away. But it does feel like something good even if it is unnaturally tense it’s the first step for their recovery. Of reforging them again. Tommy, Wilbur, Technoblade and Phil, healed and whole again. 

A bird chirps outside the window: loud, bright and clear. It sounds like hope.


	9. optime amicorum, familiae amore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T//W Description of a dead body, a brief mention of dismemberment and suicide. All of these happen in the bits that are in italics so avoid them, they aren't important to the story. 
> 
> I'm still pretty happy about this chapter, but I am happy to say that other than editing this fic is finished :)

_It’s a slideshow of horror that greets him as he dreams, intellectually he knows this isn’t happening. But, it’s scaring the shit out of him anyway. He sees Tommy, in the cage. He watches it like a sped-up video of the younger boy died. Tommy dies, and its brutal he claws and keens at the wall for hours, he pleads emptily for Wilbur, for every member on the SMP. Until it tapers off into heavy deep breathing that itself slows into a wheeze and stops. The rise and fall of Tommy’s chest fall to a complete stop. But the nightmare doesn’t stop there now, he has to watch Tommy rot sometimes it stops here, and he’s lucky those nights. It doesn’t tonight, he watches his friend's body bloat and turns purple, disfigured beyond any possible recognition. He watches it stop and reverse so instead his skin sags off his bones, and his eyes turn to disks of white._

_The worst of it happens here when Tommy’s clothes grow mould. The red of his shirt has already been dulled but it disappears under grey and dirt and death. No here is where Tommy’s jaw drops open and Tubbo can see the fungi growing on his best friend's tongue if it weren’t such a morbid sight he thinks it would look pretty. Mushrooms of reds and browns and all the colours adorn his friend's mouth their weight forcing his jaw to remain open._

_(Once he dreamt that instead of just causing it to open, it forced his jaw off, a clean break off the corpse of his best friend (Once, only once, he watched the skin drip off of his best friend, watched if fall away so all that was left was growing fungus and crumbling bones.)_

He has to remind himself that they found Tommy in time, that the younger boy is still alive and not the horror-filled sight he has imprinted on the backs of his eyelids. it’s the middle of the night, and the rest of the server is sleeping. it's quiet outside, but he slips out onto the roof of the wooden house he as built. Tubbo watches the stars for as long as possible until they disappear as light, crests the horizon. 

He hears Dreams call, long before he sees him. The older boy runs over waving his hand, and Tubbo slowly makes his way down from the roof, grabbing the bag he had already packed he met with the Dream team at the base of his house. They leave immediately, walking quickly towards the private server that the family owns. Fundy meets them at the gate, he looks harrowed but smiles when he sees them. 

“Hey,” he gives a little wave, tail swishing “, come on, they sent me out last night to get you, I brought horses so it shouldn’t take to long, we’ll get to the house at about lunchtime. You should stay for a little though.”

“How is he?”

“Phil didn’t give me the chance to see him cause he sent me out to get you pretty much straight away but Niki messaged me said he’s looking healthier. He’s wary around Wilbur though.” 

“Yeah, we realised.”

“What?” Tubbo asked, and the others spun around with particularly guilty looks, “Did- Was it Wilbur who put Tommy in the cage?”

“It was, but Wilbur can’t remember and we don’t want him to know yet, it’ll ruin him, Phil will tell him when he thinks it's time.” 

* * *

Tubbo thinks on it for a while, he thinks and processes but lets it go, it’s just another tragedy in a long line of terrible things. It takes them a day to get to the house, the night is beginning to set as they enter the house. Phil opens the door, eyes flinty but he smiles lightly at the sight of them. 

“I’m afraid Tommy is asleep, there was an issue earlier today.” The older man says through gritted teeth, he’s smiling kindly though. 

“What happened? Is everyone alright?” Tubbo askes, voice shaking slightly, Phil just opens his arms to the younger boy in reply and he fits his head under Phil’s and feels so comfortable in the man's arms. 

“It’s all good Tubbo, why don’t we go and wake up Tommy just us two and I’ll set up the spare bed and you can have a sleepover as you used to when you were younger, ok?” Tubbo nods in response, as the older man slings an arm across his shoulders and steers him up the stairs. Tubbo rubs his eyes and yawns until he’s in the room with Tommy seeing Techno sat at the top of the bed brushing his fingers through Tommy’s hair and whispering. 

Tommy shoots upright at the sight of Tubbo and Tubbo can’t help it, he rushes across the expanse of Tommy’s bedroom until he’s tackled the other boy. He can feel the tears on his face and hears the adults leave them the door staying open. 

Tubbo refuses to move until they're both breathing lightly and asleep, curled around each other in comfort. 

* * *

Dream waits until Phil and Techno both come downstairs until he relaxes Wilbur has slunk into the room and curled himself onto the sofa facing away from them and beginning to wring his hands together. 

Phil enters the room with a face full of thunder, but he doesn’t shout. It is somehow the scariest thing Dream has ever seen, he knows the stories about Phil and he’s forgotten them throughout the older man being on his land, but the man who stands in front of him is not the same one who happily patches up creeper holes and who always would give them the things they need with a smile and a laugh. This is the man who rules hardcore with his wings and his sword. 

“Techno gets everyone drinks, Wilbur stops acting like this is the end of the world, you were told what would happen and you didn’t listen. It was silly,” Phil says his voice is even but the fire in his eyes hasn’t gone out yet. 

“But, he was so happy this morning and I just wanted to hug him,” Wilbur whines and the older man shakes his head at his youngest child. 

“Wilbur, I warned you. I told you not to get too close because he wouldn’t like it and you didn’t listen. You can’t do that again, he hurt you. And you hurt him. If I have to get you to move in with Niki for a few weeks then I will. Go to bed, now. Rest and think and you can apologize in the morning.” Wilbur slinks out of the room, his head hung low and Phil sighs long and hard. “Wilbur, I love you. You’re my son, but you're not a kid anymore. Tommy needs us to be there for him because this sucks, come here first.” Wilbur doesn’t move, but it doesn’t matter to Phil who comes over and wraps his son in a hug. He whispers quietly into his ear, it's too soft for the others to hear but, that doesn’t matter because they watch the tension leave Wilburs shoulders. He leaves with his posture straight and the ghost of a smile on his face. 

“What happened?” George asks, he and the rest of the Dream Team or sat like they don’t quite belong on the furniture. All perched and tense. 

“Tommy had breakfast with us, all of us. But he was really tense through it, and couldn’t let go of me, and Techno. Will didn’t realize how scared he was of him, though it was a joke the night before and came over and gave Tommy a hug. I know he was trying to help in the Wilbur way of his, but Toms couldn’t-” He’s cut off by Techno, who walks in with a tray and hot drinks. 

“Tommy was too scared, froze and started wailing and screaming. I don’t think Wil was all there for it either just didn’t let go and Tommy started biting, bit right into Wilbur. He was feral, Tommy I mean. It took us hours to calm down Tommy and his voice is already shot to hell, we’re worried its permanent but, as long as he rests it, it shouldn’t be. With things like this happening though he hasn’t been.” 

Sapnap looks over to George and then across to Dream, he makes the decision for them. 

“If you need any help, anything at all. We’ll do it.” 

“Thanks,” Techno replies, “could you thank Karl for me before I forget to say. He really did a lot of things which helped when I was looking for Tommy and I never thanked him.” 

“Sure.”

* * *

_Tubbo dreams of their reactions that night. Of Techno’s anger morphing into agony. The greatest warrior the world has ever seen reduced to a walking corpse always looking for a boy that no longer exists. He dreams of Dream going mad and killing everyone who crosses him. He dismembers his friends with light laughter and shows no remorse, Dream without Tommy has no conflict, no safe way to let out the anger he keeps bottled away. He watches Phil leave, and never come back, Wilbur following him like a ghost. Niki never leaving the bakery, Quackity doesn’t outwardly change, but the older man has a shrine and a plan forged in madness, to resurrect Tommy and Schlatt, and he tries until his plans take his own life. He never sees himself in this, he wonders what he would do? Without his best friend at his side forever. He thinks he would die._

He wakes with a jolt, with Tommy kicking him in the side harshly, he rolls away slightly and grabs the bear he knows Tommy kept hidden under his bed. It’s an ugly thing but Tubbo knows it’s the most important thing Tommy has, it was the younger boy’s first-ever gift a Christmas gift off of Phil. He pushes it into Tommy's hands and the blonde snuggles it. TUbbo knows that there both a bit too old to sleep in the same bed, but when have he and Tommy ever been conventional. He lifts up the covers and slips in the light from the doorway almost too bright, and the heat Tommy is giving off just to hot. 

And Tubbo knows he is home. 


	10. mane diluculo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and the next chapter are really a set up for the final chapter, but they're kinda Fluffy for me so enjoy them. We are in the final stretch though guys :)

Fundy wakes up unusually early he's more tired than usual, but he made a promise last night, and he'll be damned if he doesn't do it. He yawns as he gets the pans out of the cupboard and goes rooting for flour. He hears movement, the slight creaking of the top stairs as his dad walks down the stairs. They stare at each other for a second Fundy isn't quite sure what to say to this man who seemed so much bigger a few weeks ago. Wilbur looks rough like he hasn't showered in days and his eyes are bloodshot. He debates for a moment to turn away and pretend that they haven't been staring at each other for several seconds, but the atmosphere is light, and he craves his dad. 

He opens his arms, and Wilbur dives against him. His father wraps him close in a way that he hasn't since his son was tottering after him on unstable steps. Wilbur doesn't cry, but his eyes swim. 

"My little champion," He feels rather than hears whispered into his hair. "I love you, my wonderful boy. So brave, so strong. I haven't been a good father, I've failed you more than I've protected. You're so young Fundy I should have never dragged you out into wars." 

"I love you too dad, " they hold each other with sunlight filtering across there heads bathing them both in golden light. 

___________

Niki leaves the bathroom and walks directly into Techno, they stumble into each other each turning pink. 

"Sorry," Niki squeaks out and makes herself as small as possible to slip past the older boy. 

"It's fine," he responds with a deep baritone. He looks contemplative for a second and Niki has a flash of a thought of him running her through, he is the blood god after all. He's certainly the scariest of the three brothers. "would you like to come with me to the farm today?" He asks, bringing his hands to wring together. 

"Of Course!"

They set off slightly later, eating slightly burnt pancakes off of Fundy and Wil, the two keep looking at each other then turning away. They might not have made up properly, but this is definitely the start of it. The farm is much larger than Niki was expecting stretching out until the bank of the river. She is also marginally surprised that it isn't just potatoes but many other vegetables. 

"Right then," she says with a loud clap, startling Techno, "(sorry) What do you want me to do?"

____________________

Tubbo opens his eyes to Phil shaking him lightly, he's grinning the same way he was 

"Come on, wakey. Fundy made pancakes for us all. Leave Tommy he hasn't slept this long in probably a while," Phil helps him up. He makes his own way to the door, he turns as exits and watches Phil whisper a mystery to the other boy it feels very much like Tubbo is intruding so he leaves quickly. He sits at the table quietly eating and contemplating what he should do for the day, Phil pokes his head into the room and laughs when he sees Tubbo stabbing his food.

"Hey mate, want to come with me today, I need to check on some of the things we have around. We haven't visited the house in years, and everything's a bit dusty and dirty." 

"Yeah, Phil course I will!" He stands and follows the other man to the cupboard under the stairs where they dig out all the cleaning supplies, and Phil breaks into a laugh at Tubbo's scream when he sees a dead spider. They begin upstairs in what Tubbo thinks is Wilbur's room if the Orca posters and guitar are anything to go by. 

"You know Tubbo, you're one of mine. Like Techno and Wilbur and Tommy. I don't think any of us have said it before. But you've been a part of the family for nearly the same amount of time as Tommy. We found you at the side of the road Tubbo, but you belong here. You are my son. We should have said it more." Phil says, as calmly as if he's talking about the weather. 

"You mean it?" 

"Of course I do, you're my kid Tubs. Your Tommy's brother too."

Tubbo lets out a breath of air, mouth forming an O. 

Phil hesitates for a moment before he swings one arm around the younger boys shoulders and begins to curl his fingers through dark thick hair. 

"I've always said you were mine Tubbo, I have four sons. Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur and Techno, and I'm bloody proud of every one of them."

_______

Dream stares at Sapnap the younger boy's bouncing off the walls like usual trying to keep George entertained the way he does. Dream wonders what would have been different. If it had been one of this three that had gone missing. Would they have all moved faster? Would George and Sapnap acted at all? Would Techno or Tubbo have even searched? Would-

"I can hear you thinking from all the way over there. Relax Dream. Everything is fine." George interjects, disrupting his thoughts and startling him enough, that he spills some of the water he was drinking over his green jumper. Sapnaps laugh is loud and abrasive, it's the most comforting thing he's heard all week. George giggles in the background. 

He laughs along with them his mind unclouding. There are creak and noise from the room opposite, and Tommy pokes his head through the door. He grins at the sight of the three of them. 

"D...Gero...Sap.." He says, his voice is cracked and breaking but sounds marginally better than what Dream heard as Phil carried Tommy away. Sapnap jumps to his feet, bandana fliting out behind him as he throws himself at Tommy with a loud shout. 

"Tommy!" they collide with a loud sound and the forced expelling of air. "Come on, we'll find the others, and we can have a day out together! does that sound like fun!" He gets a nod, and George and Dream stand to join their friends, they laugh there way down the stairs and off on their adventure to find their friends. 


	11. Sanitatem, amici, misericordiam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/W For shouting and crying, a mention of the muzzle and cage.

George and Tommy aren't close; they argue more than they care about each other. But when he watches the younger boys face light up as he uses Dreamlike monkey bars, he's glad the younger boy has been found. 

Tommy's hair is golden as they make there way down the stairs and his laugh, however quiet makes everything feel better. Dream sets the younger boy down much to his disappointment, but George shoulders in he take the thing he's been hiding since Tommy went missing out of his bag. It's a music disc, it's not one of Tommy's the Geroge doesn't have any of them. It's Ward, he found it when he had gone with Dream searching for Tommy, he passes it over. Tommy's eyes go as wide as dinner plates. 

"Ank you!" He answers, jumping up and down. Geroge isn't one for physical affection he would rather have his arms cut off sometimes than be involved in hugs of his friends. He prefers to give sentimental things to the people he cares about. Seeing Tommy, this excited is absolutely worth it. (If George ruffles Tommy's hair, well the others can tell, but they aren't allowed to snitch on him. They promised they wouldn't.)

* * *

Wilbur is dancing with his son in the kitchen when the troupe comes downstairs. They're not quite waltzing, but it's close enough to make him smile. Fundy is laughing like he did when Wilbur used to dance with Sally when Fundy was tiny, his little boy has grown so big these last few years. He and Tommy both have been so brave. He should have spoken and told them how much they mean to him before, but like always Phil is right, and there's no point in dwelling on possibilities he just has the future to look forward to. 

"Fun..." He hears from behind him and they both swivel round to see Tommy and the Dream Team, his son turns a fascinating shade of marron, but he grins at them. 

"Made you Pancakes, we can eat them together. Phil and Tubbo are cleaning up, and Niki and Techno went out to the farm. Eat quick, and we can meet up together!" Wilbur turns to leave, he knows he should, let Tommy relax at the table, but there's a cautious hand on his shoulder and a little shake of his younger brothers head. 

"Tommy, let him go, we don't want to sit with him here either." Sapnap calls, he draws himself up and ready to fight the other man. Wilbur looks on, pulling his own arms to his chest. 

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Of fucking course you did! You did this to Tommy! You muzzled him and left him in a cage, you fucker!" George shouts, voice much clear than usual, Wilbur recoils as if he's been shot. He stutters out half-cooked sentences whimpering. 

He turns and sprints out of the door, into the room he spent time last night in, he caused this pain, he wants to scream and riot. To tear out his own heart as punishment. Why? Even in a fit of madness, why would anyone choose to do this? He's moved onto the couch in the other room, and he knows he's weeping. There is a scratch at the door, and a note is pushed through. He reaches for it with trembling fingers.

  
_Wilbur,_  
_I love you, remember that._  
_Tommy_

It's written in Tommy's chicken scratch, and it hurts to see it look worse than it used to, his brother hasn't held a pen in months because of him. It gives him confidence through this tiny scrap of paper he pulls upwards standing on shaky legs and returning to the kitchen. 

* * *

Tommy is quiet, he had stopped that the bottom of the stairs and watched the crux of all his nightmares, dancing. Dappled in sunlight and smiling the way he used to. Tommy's scared there will never be a time when his brother will doesn't scare him. But he can love him even so. He's been terrified of Techno for years, the man has the nickname of the Blood God who wouldn't be shitting themself every time he snarls at them. So he'll be scared of Wilbur. Of the Wilbur who lost his mind in the dark passages of Pogtopia. The one had been twisted by grief into a monster. 

But that Wilbur and this Wibur are very different people. Wilbur is dancing with his son decorated in light and smiling so widely. This is his brother. not the creature that possessed him in Pogtopia. He has a note written and tucked away in his pocket he'd written it when he woke up, its a confession of Wilburs actions of what his brother had done. 

Wilbur leaves, and Fundy looks confused, so Tommy writes it carefully with slowly healing hands under thick bandages onto the fox's arm. He watches the fox go from anger to acceptance so quickly, and he wonders how much is Fundy owed by his family? It's more than a lifetime. They can hear Wilbur crying next door, and he pushes the second note through as well. 

Wilbur rejoins them, with a tear-soaked face and eyes that are shattered discs. But he smiles all the same. It's not the Pogtopia smile, its something sad and small, something the people in this room shouldn't see. This is Wilbur in twenty pieces coming apart. 

Tommy throws himself forward, ignoring the warning bells ringing at the back of his head that he has pushed his head into the tiger's jaws. 

"Wilby?" He asks he knows it sounds rough like someones took a grater to his vocal cords, Tommy can see it in the way his family winces every time he speaks. "Love you. Forgive you, not sad, happy." He hits his brother on the arm, it's as hard as he can manage. 

"Can I?" He gets off the older man, and he nods voice already tired. Wilbur lifts his hand and ruffles his hair, messes it up until it's a birds nest it's more careful than usual. Not the way he would shove Tommy into the floor at any given moment. This is an apology in actions, and Tommy forgives. 

(Sapnap notices what's happening and he realises that the fox does too, they have always been more perceptive than people give them credit for. Tommy has always been too forgiving, even to his enemies. Wilbur may have forgotten, but Sapnap will never forget and never forgive. Wilbur doesn't deserve it.)

(Dream sees it too watches baseline understanding dawn onto Sapnaps face, George hasn't clocked at all what is happening which is almost funny. Tommy is smarter than any of them have ever given him credit for his body language reads as forgiveness, but his eyes show his game. He has done this on purpose, there's the mischief Dream has always seen in his eyes. This is the real Tommy who knows just what to do to make Wilbur do what he wants. Dream is the one pulling strings on the SMP, but Tommy is the true master of manipulation. He is forgiving his brother but only because he knows how it will help his family heal, clever-clever Tommy.)

* * *

Phil has failed most of his children. (They would disagree but there biased, and Phil can't stand them praising what doesn't deserve praise)

He failed Wilbur when he was young. He thought he would be the same as Techno who didn't need attention, Wilbur craved it instead. Like a moth to a flame. He needed to be loved at all times and shown, always that he was special. Phil hadn't done that very well. Had abandoned his son, who played instruments to the cruelty of the world. Wilbur had suffered for it and had snapped. 

His youngest has witnessed atrocities he can't even imagine had been harmed in ways that Phil can't think as real. He's so much smaller than Phil remembers, and all harsh angles and rough edges, but this Phil knows he can help him heal from. 

He's failed his adopted son as well, hasn't told him how precious he is often enough, you'd think he would have learnt from his failure with his first. 

He's watching Tubbo, the boy has sunlight filtering through his hair, and he's humming, and laughing at his own jokes as they clean the garden. Pulling brambles away from what was once a beautiful backyard. 

"Phil?" He hears as the Dream team appear, Tommy and Wilbur in tow, there smiling at each other grinning and laughing and for a second he's pulled back into memory. Of when his boys were tiny and wandered after him, crawling on knobbly knees to smile at him and follow him with calls for dad. When Tommy would drag Wilbur slowly down to sit on the floor together and call for him. 

He snaps out of it when Wilbur shouts for him, and he rushes over. 

"Hey mate, why don't we get some food together and meet up with Tech and Niki?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One left, I'm glad it's over, to be honest, I loved writing this but at the end with the fluff, I began to struggle. There's one left and there's like an odd tone at the end that I liked but, we'll see how others like it. There is absolutely more that could be written about this. Tommy is certainly not fully healed and there is still more that can be done with Wilbur's character. There was a subplot was going to do with someone finding the muzzle left on the floor in the main house and causing Tommy to have a breakdown. I couldn't write it very well and couldn't figure out a way to get it in naturally. 
> 
> See you all in the final instalment though! This certainly isn't my final fic with these kinds of themes so stick around if you want lol :)


	12. Felix finis

Techno doesn't know what possessed him to ask Niki to come with him to the farm, she's a hard worker though and hasn't complained about the workload. She works on diligently he wishes that the two of them had, had any chance to speak during the rebellion. They would have gotten along much better than he first hopes. 

His communicator buzzes from his cape, "Should I get it for you?" Niki asks him, and he grunts rather than respond. "It's from Phil. He asked if we could bring some food and meet them at a clearing for a picnic?" Techno stands, brushing dirt out of his trousers and Niki hands him his cloak as he approaches. "We should get some food together then, I assume they're taking stuff from the house, so should we just get some carrots and potatoes?" He grunts again, and she smiles brightly up at him. He would be surprised if it didn't seem terribly on brand that she could already tell what he's thinking. He smiles hesitantly back. 

* * *

"Tommy, Tommy, Come on!" Tubbo shouts as they rush through the trees, the family knows the clearing well. It's where they first found Tommy after all. It's the most peaceful place in the whole forest with a trickling stream just rolling by. 

They set up blankets and sit down all huddled together, Techno and Niki appear laden down the vegetables that Tommy pretends to vomit onto them all. It reminds Tubbo so much of his first few years with these boys, when they'd found him in that box and taken him in without a word. 

Niki moves, slightly, until she's sat facing the grass, she begins picking the daisies with practised care. She talks still, laughing at Wilburs exaggerated retelling of himself and Techno escaping the nether when they were both tiny. (Tubbo knows the real story, not the embellishment that Wilbur likes to tell. Phil used to recount the tale at night when Tommy and Tubbo were about to sleep it's Phil's favourite because its the first time he ever meets the boys he would call sons.) She knots them together like a seamstress on the loom. Crafting a crown with daisies with the same tender care she bakes with she weaves for a few minutes before turning to Techno and jamming the crown down into his head.

Techno stutters for a second, looking as perplexed as Tubbo feels. Niki making flower crowns isn't something that he thinks is weird, but that the first one goes to Techno is something he wasn't expecting. 

"As a thank you Techno," she says, already turning back around to make another, "for a wonderful morning!"

"Thank you too," Techno stutters through, with the background noise of the Dream Team losing their collective minds. The blood god soft just because of a flower crown. Tommy moves over sitting down next to Niki with no grace, one leg flying out and crushing a few flowers much to Niki's annoyance. 

"Me, next," He says, and she obliges, her hands beginning to stain green in from rooting around for flowers. Tommy remains next to her as the conversation behind them moves forward, and Niki starts humming. It's quiet and low, not quite a tune Tommy recognises but he joins in with off keynotes where he can. 

* * *

The sun begins to set in there clearing. Tubbo is running after bees through the flowers decorating the edges of the river. His laugh is bright and carefree as he dances. He kicks water in shimmering arcs over to the others sitting around him and giggles at there indignation. That is what Tubbo should be like, without wars pushing him into positions he cannot hope to fill, the spy or the politician, this is the boy the remnants of childhood that Tubbo has yet to shake off and become a man. The dream team watch with glee, for they are barely adults too. Sapnaps hands drum a tune on his leg for just long enough for it to become annoying before Phil appears with the kind smile of a father. He shoos them into joining in, and they do. There's a triumphant cry as the older boys begin playing a slightly harsh version of tag, it opens with George being shoved headfirst into the stream. There isn't any malice though, only happiness, and the three of them rope Tubbo into pouring water onto Technoblade which ends with the blood god soaking them all through. The five of them aren't the youngest, but they are the five most forged by war. They are the five that have fought and hurt for years at the hands of other Generals. They are fighting now, but the fighting is for fun, and it heals the jagged edges of there souls however little it smoothes those ragged edges it does something, the very first step that they need. 

Niki stops making flower crowns and sits next to Phil they too have been shaped by war. Both have had white-knuckled grips on the potential death of there families. Often there kitchen counters are indented with there fingerprints. Both have waited for the messages of death, and the ever-growing thought that they have failed. They sit further upstream from the game of tag and are talking in the adult way about nothing. Niki's hands are stained bright green. There both cradling soup, it's warm in their cups. They laugh at the antics of the children they talk casually about things that will never matter. They are both old souls. This is what calms them talking nonsense for hours on end as a distraction from the fear they know will consume them again. 

Wilbur and fundy sit, silent in words. Wilbur is playing chords on his old guitar to fill the silence. Fundy leans carefully onto his father's shoulder. He has the thought first to hum, but Wilbur whispers the idea to sing into his ear, and he does. Voice untested but full of potential. Fundy and Wilbur have always come in second both lower than they should have been on there fathers lists. They won't heal from just this they need more than just a sing-song in the dying light. Their souls are tempered in the ideas that they were never good enough, hardened to the world based on the ideals of there inferiority. There is a kinship between them though, not the one of parent and child, but of shared pain suffered between them. 

Tommy sits on the discarded picnic blanket he could join any group. He has played every role at this table. Forged in war, for L'manburg, from the tales, his brother tells of his wars his fathers conquests over much of his worlds. He has played the role of waiting for brothers and fathers much older swept out and doing their own thing, unworried for the boy they leave at home. He has played positions of second-best never the best son, and he has been behind L'manburg as a whole. He doesn't move, sat with his toes in the mud and his brother's coat covering his shoulders. He stares at the stars happily drinking hot chocolate, and he may sit alone gazing upwards, but he has never felt so loved. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! I think the ending is more hopeful than Happy but recovery can't happen in a day and I certainly can't write the long process in this fic. I don't think it's quite purple prose but the end is nearly there lol. I'm thankful to everyone who's stuck around and read this story, it's something I'm unbelievably proud of. Thank you all :)

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently, the title is 'Muzzle' translated into Latin, not sure if it's true but it sounded ok so I wasn't complaining. Comment, please, I need the validation of my current hyper fixation, I'm desperate. 
> 
> Of course, if any of the creators say anything about being uncomfortable about fic's like this, please let me know so I can remove this :), Thanks for reading!
> 
> Just thought I'd add I'm planning to update this every other day, but I have a couple of exams coming up so that may fall by the Wearside if I can't keep up with it.


End file.
